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Sony's streaming speakers offer premium design and 360 Reality Audio support

Sony's SRS-RA3000 and SRS-RA5000 Wi-Fi speakers will offer a higher-priced alternative to the Amazon Echo Studio, but aren't "smart."

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
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Ty Pendlebury
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sony-ra3000
Sony

Sony has announced a premium set of streaming speakers during CES, the SRS-RA3000 and the SRS-RA5000, which offer both Chromecast built-in and 360 Reality Audio support.

Both Sony models offer top-mounted controls and while the entry-level RA3000 is humidity resistant -- making it suitable for wet areas -- the premium RA5000 is more of a statement piece.

The speakers first appeared on the Sony UK and Sony Australia websites over the weekend before CES, but a Sony spokesperson has confirmed that "these will be coming to the US at a later date."

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SRS-RA5000

 Sony

The speakers offer a 360-degree sound field and can even upscale stereo content with their Immersive Audio Enhancement feature. Sony says the RA3000 and RA5000 can "easily be added to a speaker group in the Google Home or Amazon Alexa" ecosystems, but don't feature onboard microphones. The products also include Spotify Connect and Bluetooth support and can be paired wirelessly with a Sony TV.

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Sony introduced its Dolby Atmos-like 360 Reality Audio format at CES two years ago, but this is the first time it's announced a product that supports it other than headphones. The Amazon Echo Studio was the first affordable speaker to offer 360 Reality Audio, costing $200, £190 and AU$329. However, the Studio also includes the Alexa voice assistant onboard.

US pricing is not yet available but the speakers will go on sale in February in the UK for £280 for the SRS-RA3000 and £500 for the SRS-RA5000. Based on that starting point, expect pricing of around $300 and AU$450, and $500 (Australia price TBA), respectively.